This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Light rail service was disrupted on the 1 Line after copper wire thieves struck again.
Sound Transit stated the 1 Line was shut down at 6:30 a.m. Friday. It reopened just before 11 a.m.
The 2 Line suffered damage the night before, at approximately 9 p.m., although it was unrelated to copper wire thieves. Trains traveling between the Overlake Village and downtown Redmond stations have been stopped.
According to Sound Transit Spokesperson Amy Enbysk, the disruptions were due to copper theft. There is no estimated time for reopening the 2 Line. Sound Transit is telling riders they can catch shuttle buses at stations between Federal Way and Angle Lake, which run every 15 minutes. Riders can check out alternative routes on Sound Transit’s website.
Copper wire thieves shut down light rail between SeaTac and Federal Way
Earlier this month, on Feb. 11, Sound Transit light rail was shut down between the Star Lake Station in Kent and the Angle Lake Station in SeaTac for almost three hours after thieves stole copper wire, causing a power issue.
The 1 Line’s south extension has only been open since December. But it has experienced repeated, brief disruptions due to power fluctuations that Sound Transit believes are mostly tied to wire theft.
Copper theft on the rise
Sound Transit has added more cameras, alarms, and security measures to combat the issue, but thefts continue.
Copper prices have soared in recent years. That makes the scrap market more lucrative, and transit lines and telecommunications infrastructure have become major targets.
In Ballard, thieves stole $40,000 worth of wire between the summer of 2025 and New Year’s Eve. The company finally installed tracking devices inside the wiring. That helped police trace the stolen materials to cars that contained hundreds of pounds of stolen wire, plus digital scales and cash.
Legal intervention
It’s become such a prolific issue that utilities and telecom companies urged lawmakers to take action.
At a Senate hearing last fall, Comcast representatives said the issue has “risen to a crisis level” as prices have gone up. According to the Washington State Standard, Lumen reports more copper thefts in our state than any other.
In January, lawmakers introduced House Bill 2213, which would impose a ten-day “holding period” on metal recyclers before they can sell scrap, and require them to upload pictures of wire to a searchable database. It would also allow police to seize wire that they believe was stolen, even after it was sold.
King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gary Ernsdorff told Seattle’s Morning News anchor, Manda Factor, that recyclers know that what they are buying is stolen.
“My dad’s 97 years old. He can’t see well enough to drive. He can’t hear very well. But if a dude came up to him in a ratty old pickup truck with a pair of bolt cutters and a whole bunch of four-foot sections of communication copper wire transmission line, he could spot a thief a mile away,” King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gary Ernsdorff said.
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